Organizational priorities in dynamic times

Dear colleagues,

The pandemic is bringing unprecedented changes to society, including to the work and lives of family doctors. The CFPC shifted to remote work. Its leadership has dedicated attention to how to respond to social pressures related to racism and how to best serve members in this dynamic environment. In consultation with the CFPC board, senior management, and Chapter leaders, we have refreshed the CFPC’s 2017-2022 strategic plan and will focus on key deliverables between now and December 2022. You will find the plan here: www.cfpc.ca/en/Refreshed-CFPC-Strategic-Plan-2017-2022.

Advancing family medicine: to advance family medicine through standard setting, education across the continuum, and practice improvement. This first goal is primarily focused on CFPC’s standard setting role, with the added lens of validating the work of family doctors and the value of our profession. We aim to emphasize and strengthen the unique skill set of family doctors as comprehensive generalists, with a scope of practice that includes and goes beyond the boundaries of office-based primary care. We will modernize our assessment and Certification process and examinations, capturing emerging competencies such as virtual care. We will support members in practice improvement; our review of Mainpro+ standards and launch of Professional Learning Plans will support members in meeting accountability requirements and add to the meaning of maintenance of Certification. Education standards are within our sphere of maximal influence for the value of our profession. In alignment with this, in collaboration with provincial Chapters, we will continue to advocate for models of practice, consistent with the Patient’s Medical Home vision, that support a broad scope of practice.

One unified voice: to be the clear, unified voice of family medicine and family physicians. This goal is derived from sustained feedback we are getting from family doctors about the perception of erosion of the value they bring to care. A recent CFPC-commissioned survey reveals that 9 out of 10 Canadians view the care they receive from their family doctors positively or very positively. A “one brand” strategy across both the CFPC and the provincial Chapters is viewed as critical to promoting the unique contribution of certified family doctors to the health of Canadians. As this is deployed, we will aim to adapt our strategy to specific provincial contexts, in collaboration with provincial Chapters. We are including specific actions to enhance our understanding of systemic racism toward Indigenous peoples and other racialized groups, including some of our active members and family medicine resident members. We will address systemic racism within our role of standard setting for family medicine.

Transforming the CFPC: to create a digitally enabled, distributed organization to enhance operations, engagement, and member service. Attracting and retaining a talented employee work force is essential to supporting efforts across the other 2 strategic goals. This includes determining CFPC’s physical space requirements to optimize new ways of working, how to enhance member service, how to ensure organizational continuity in this new environment, how to best engage members, and how to optimize relations and functions between the CFPC and its provincial Chapters by harnessing our respective and common strengths.

I take this opportunity to thank the CFPC members and Canada’s family doctors for keeping us safe and for your support as members during these unprecedented times. I also want to thank members who serve on committees and working groups, as well as members of the academic community, who are continuing to be involved in CFPC’s consultations for their input and feedback. It is through your work and support, and through the engagement of our staff and that of Chapters, that we can best continue to be the voice of family medicine and of family physicians. I look forward to the journey ahead of us as we emerge from the pandemic and continue to adapt and evolve.

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